Never to Be
by schwans
Summary: Qudditch League Fanfiction Competition Round 7! A quiet evening out for Harry and Ginny turns into an evening of realization and reflection for Seamus.


Never to Be

* * *

"A quiet night out you said?"

"Yeah, we can go eat at the Leaky, the potato soup might actually be better than mum's." Ginny locked arms with Harry as she dragged him down the street. Past the two women who had locked arms as they walked up the crooked cobblestone street, and a busker with a guitar hoping for denotations for his talents.

"I'll believe it when I try it." The only sound was their feet on the ground and the busker nearby hitting a sour note. "Wait, what do you think about my soup?" He looked frazzled, before smiling widely, his glasses sliding down his nose. "It's not that bad is it?"

"Anything that creates a new life form in the kitchen has to be bad."

"That was not my fault, Hermione was trying to help, she thinks mushrooms belong in everything. Especially with the right sauces."

"She can't cook can she?" Ginny knew Hermione was a by the book cook, not an instinctive one like Ginny's mum and a couple of her brothers. Bill and Ron (of all people) could find random things in the cupboard to make a delicious stew. Hermione was far to inflexible.

"Hermione's cooking is okay… It's just by the book."

"Ah, I expected nothing less. Now tell me about this dinner."

"Well, I might have… helped it along. The potion cupboard somehow got opened and… well, you can figure out what happened." Harry looked around at some of the passersby.

"Something fell in, and you are not sure what it was?"

"I told your brother I could get a pizza. He turned me down. Though maybe I shouldn't have asked while he and Hermione were starting to bicker."

"Is that why you agreed to going out tonight on such short notice?"

"Not just that. I may have thought that Ron and Hermione might need some alone time to sort out their problems."

"More information then I needed."

"Your mind is very deep in the gutter."

"It's my brother and my best friend, I have heard far to much from Hermione to think of other ways for those arguments to be settled."

"Try living with them. You have saved me from at least an hour of petty bickering."

"Does the smell of Ron's feet still fill the room when he takes off his shoes?" Harry nodded as he opened the door to the Leaky Cauldron. Ginny shuddered as she stepped through the door. "Then I am not moving in with you lot in the foreseeable future."

It was busy that evening, nearly all the tables were full, and as a result Hannah Abbott was maneuvering with surprising grace through the throng of people while Tom was working up at the bar. Ginny took Harry's arm and walked him to a freshly evacuated table in the corner where it would be harder to be seen by the rest of the customers, but they could watch everyone else.

Ginny tilted her head to look around one of the potted plants saving them from getting mobbed by the rest of the pub. She had just seen a flash of red hair at the bar. Ginny leaned out of the chair at a ninety-degree angle for a better look, causing Harry some confusion when his girlfriend disappeared.

She popped back up without any confirmation on which of her brother's it was when she found herself staring at Seamus Finnegan's knee a few inches from her nose. They locked eyes and Seamus winked at her before greeting Harry was a handshake and a slap on the back in an act of male posturing before greeting Ginny with a hug.

"How are you two doing?" Seamus dropped into the empty seat and made himself comfortable. "Looks like life's treating you both well."

"Yeah, it is." Ginny gave Harry a soft look that colored his face immediately. "My life is as good as can be expected, but Harry will have to answer for himself in that area."

"Blissfully dull." Harry said as he flipped through a menu on the table.

"Good for you Harry." Seamus motioned over towards the bar where Ginny was looking earlier. "Ginny, are you spying on your brother?"

"Not intentionally. I wasn't even sure if he was my brother until you mentioned it. Do you know which one it is Seamus, I might want to bring this up at the next family dinner?" Ginny's mouth curled into a cat-like smile at the thought of some mild sibling psychological torture.

"He's got glasses, dressed like an office worker. I can't remember his name. The girl is pretty. I've been watching him flirt with her for a few minutes before I had to walk away. The flirting was a little awkward and it made me sad."

She nodded her head slowly, her smile growing as she started to plot. "I am going to bring this up at the next family dinner." She paused and looked at Harry. "We need to sneak out of here when we leave, I am planning and I am taking no chances."

"Alright Ginny."

Seamus looked at them both for a moment before shifting his gaze to Ginny his expression became a strangely breathless.

"I'm glad I could help you with you evil plots, Ginny, but it is time for me to get back to the flat." Seamus shook Harry's hand again and awkwardly hugged Ginny goodbye before walking out of the Leaky Cauldron leaving Harry and Ginny to a flirty conversation that made him sad in a different way than the one he had overheard at the bar.

Seamus decided he would never say a word about his feelings for Ginny. She was happy. Why would he want to intrude on that? That was disrespectful to both Harry and Ginny and would possibly lead to a lot of things and issues he would not want to deal with.

He was a simple person, complexities made him nervous. He admired Ginny's ferocity, fearlessness, and feminine beauty. She was a strong source of support and protection when the Carrows and Snape took over Hogwarts. Maybe his feelings were just admiration, or perhaps a little more. If anyone asked, it was admiration for her certainty and strength.

Nothing could come of speaking his feelings and confusions to the mysteriously silent street.

"I think I'm in love with Ginny."

It made him feel better to speak though, even if he was uncomfortable voicing the real extent of his feelings. It helped to hear it in his own ears. Just to lay his cards on the table for a better look at the hand. He would never be able to compare to the great Harry Potter in Ginny Weasley's eyes.

* * *

AN: _I wanted to try a light third person omniscient, which explains the shift change at the end._

_Prompts used_

_Breathless _

_Mysteriously silent_


End file.
